Sit Tempora Nova Initia
by ElvishRanger
Summary: Hermione Granger is sent back in time through an accidental use of magic. Trying to keep everything the same is going to be difficult, especially when she gets to know the Marauders. Can her existence there really harm the future?
1. Finding the Past

**Author's Note: Anything related to the Harry Potter universe obviously does not belong to me, no matter how much I wished it did. Sigh. And the Latin in this chapter may be incorrect. I admit I used Google Translate.**

 _May 15th, 1998_

The war was over. Many lives had been lost, but many had been saved. Harry Potter had died, and yet lived. That was the strangest part of the war. At least, it was for him and the other two thirds of the Golden Trio. In the weeks that followed, there were many funerals and parties to attend. While many mourned the loss of loved ones, many celebrated a newfound sense of freedom: freedom from Voldemort, freedom from fear that had held the country captive for many, many years.

Finally with a relatively quiet night in, the trio found themselves comfortably sitting around the table at the Burrow with the entire Weasley family, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Nymphadora Tonks. The last two had formed some attachment previous to the battle, but it had quickly fizzled out. Whether this was from the danger of the war or a lack of true attraction from both parties had been undetermined, but neither wished to try again. They were all merely glad to still be together, and alive.

That was not to say that the group had not lost some dear to them. Lavender Brown had been one of the hardest for Ron. The two had briefly been back together and losing his girlfriend had been hard on the youngest Weasley boy. He had yet to fully recover, though none expected him to after only a few short weeks. Colin Creevey had also perished, taken at too young an age. Severus Snape, who would never be completely forgiven, was also mourned, as it appeared he had not been as evil as they had all once thought.

Still, they all attempted to put such losses from their minds, even if they would never leave them completely. Molly Weasley had cooked up a meal to feed an army which had been gratefully received by the people gathered around. The air was filled with laughter and smiles, everyone clearly enjoying themselves. Ginny and Harry had disappeared at some point during the celebration, though no one bothered to go looking for them. Everyone had decided they had earned the right to be together without any interruptions, though Molly could occasionally be heard muttering goodnaturedly, "Better not get her pregnant too young."

Though she was enjoying the festivities, Hermione Granger found herself needing a breath of fresh air, and had politely excused herself from a conversation with Arthur and Percy over Kingsley Shacklebolt's landslide win for Minister for Magic and how legislation was hopefully soon to be passed to put the Wizarding World back together. She knew better than to go far from the house as Death Eaters were still being rounded up, but the land on which the Burrow sat was protected with increased wards that would keep those with evil intentions away. It was a beautiful night, cloudless with a soft breeze that made for the perfect temperature. The young woman settled down beneath a tree to glance out at the stars, a small smile upon her lips.

She remembered gazing at the stars with her parents when she was younger. Every Friday night they would sit out on a blanket in their backyard, pointing out constellations they remembered and recounting the stories behind them. She had loved all of those moments and wished she could bring them back. However, she had lost them. Her parents continued life in Australia without her, oblivious to the fact they once had a child. Even with the war over, Hermione had found she was unable to reverse the charms she'd placed upon them. It seemed being the Brightest Witch of her Age had backfired for once.

The Weasley's had adopted her in even when it became clear she and Ron were never going to be an item. It hadn't mattered to Molly Weasley. She loved Hermione as a daughter either way, and the family they provided chased away most of the pain losing her parents had caused her, much like they had done for Harry. Sirius and Remus had also been of immense help. The pair had been around often to talk with the younger crowd, and everyone together and safe made life much more easy to bear. At times she felt they cast odd glances her way, but it was always too quick for her to be sure, and so she never brought it up. Not to them, not to anyone.

Sighing, she lifted a hand to grasp the locket around her neck. It had come to her in a package by owl the day before and, after having it scanned over many times for signs of possible danger, she'd found it harmless. It was a beautiful piece, a silver heart with a sapphire placed in the middle. The only problem was she seemed to have trouble opening it. No matter what spells she tried, it refused to open. Even Harry and Ron couldn't figure it out. She had intended to ask the others about it that night, but she hadn't gotten around to it yet. Nobody had seemed to notice it, either, though it wasn't strange for that to not happen.

The young witch would be lying if she said she wasn't curious as to what was inside. It wasn't dangerous, she knew, and that only added to her curiosity. Inscribed on the side was one phrase: _Sit Tempora Nova Initia_. She had done some research earlier that day and found out it was Latin. Unsurprising, really. "Let Time Bring forth New Beginnings..." She murmured, translating the words. It was the first time she'd spoken it aloud. Without much hope, she pressed the button to try and unlock it again, though this time it opened and an intense light flashed before her eyes, blinding her. It was too much, and a tug at her belly caused her to lose consciousness.


	2. Dumbledore is Alive?

**Author's Note: Yup. Still don't own Harry Potter.**

 _August 17th, 1977_

When Hermione awoke, she was not in the same place she had been when she'd passed out. That was the first thing she had noticed. The second was that her body ached, as if she'd fallen a great distance, though that shouldn't have been the case. She had been sitting, not standing, when the light had caused her to lose consciousness. Still, that was the least of her troubles. Oddly enough, she appeared to be by the lake at Hogwarts.

Ignoring the pain in her body, she sat up, glancing around. "Definitely Hogwarts..." She mumbled, eyes widening a moment later as she realized that the school was completely intact, like the battle had never occurred. Something strange was certainly up and it left her feeling uncomfortable. Instinctively her fingers reached for her wand, comforted by the fact it was still tucked in the holster by her side. At least that was going well for her. "Well, Hermione, the only thing to do is go see the Headmistress. I'm sure she can help you home." The young woman muttered to herself, easing herself to a standing position. Nothing seemed broken or amiss, minus the dull ache, and for that she was thankful.

After a quick brush off of her jeans and shirt, she strolled in the direction of the school. It was empty of students like it should have been, though that left her feeling hollow. She'd never been to the school without people in it and while she was sure the professors were somewhere around, it didn't feel quite like home as it normally did. She surmised part of that could have been the memories of the battle as well, though she refused to think too much on them.

It took her a good five minutes or so to reach the statue out front of McGonagall's office, though once there she realized she did not know the password, and McGonagall was not as easy to predict as Dumbledore had been. "Catnip?" She guessed weakly, knowing it would be very unlikely it was the answer. Of course it was wrong, and the girl stood there thinking it over. "The Battle Is Won?" Still nothing. Nothing else came to her and she was just about to leave when she heard a voice from behind her, "Can I help you, Miss?"

Hermione froze, knowing that voice well. Dumbledore. While she had not been as close to her old Headmaster as Harry had been, she had respected the man greatly, diminishing only slightly when it came to light he had kept information from Harry about his need to die. It was with great trepidation that she turned around, gasping as she did. It was definitely Dumbledore, but he seemed younger. There was less white in his hair and beard and he looked somewhat less troubled with worries.

The man seemed unaffected by her blatant staring and lack of speech. Instead he returned her gaze with kindness twinkling in his eyes, only repeating his question, "Can I help you, Miss?"

It was then that Hermione regained her senses. "Hermione Granger, sir. It seems I've bumped my head and gotten lost. Do you know what day it is?" She asked politely.

"August 17th, 1977. Do come up the stairs so we can discuss how you came to be in the past. Chocolate Frog." He stated the last part to the statue, which jumped out of the way to give the pair access to the stairs up to Dumbledore's office. It took Hermione a moment to follow, though she hesitated. Once inside, Dumbledore gestured for the girl to sit in one of the chairs while he took his seat behind the desk.

"Sir... what makes you think I'm from the future?" Hermione had no idea how he had guessed such a thing. She thought she'd been careful not to give it away, but he'd picked up on it so easily. Then again, it was Dumbledore. Nothing should have surprised her about him.

"Your outfit, Miss Granger. Unless you've made up a band named Backstreet Boys that released music in 1996, I do believe you must have come from the future."

Hermione glanced down at her shirt, blushing. She'd forgotten she'd worn the shirt. It wasn't her usual attire, but it was comfortable. "I'm from 1998, sir. I don't really know how I came to be here. I guess it had something to do with this locket." Her hand reached for the locket around her neck only to find it was gone. Confusion clouded her eyes and she frowned. "Well, there was a locket."

"Why don't you tell me what happened, Miss Granger." Dumbledore requested warmly. "Though would you like a cup of tea? I've found tea to be excellent when stories are being told, as well as it calms nerves."

"No thank you, sir, though I appreciate the offer." Dumbledore nodded and gestured for her to continue then. "We were celebrating..." She hesitated, trying to decide how to choose her words best, "We were celebrating and I'd gone outside for some air. There was a locket I'd received a few days earlier that I couldn't seem to get open. On the side was something written in Latin, 'Let Time Bring Forth New Beginnings,' or something like that. For some reason when I pushed the button to open it after speaking the words, it opened. There was a bright light and I found myself outside by the lake, in the past and not even on the same day."

"I can speculate from your reaction to me that I am no longer living in your time." Hermione went to speak, but Dumbledore held up a hand. "No, no, I do not want to know anything more. Having that kind of power is dangerous for anyone. How and when I perish can't be changed. I think I'd prefer going on as if I didn't know. Unfortunately I do not know how to get you back to your time, though I'm sure we can look into it. I've got some connections at the Ministry that I'm sure will be useful. However, in the meantime I suggest you get acclimated to your new environment. Neither of us know when or if you'll return to your time, so I believe it's best if you blend in as best you can here."

Hermione nodded, swallowing hard. The fact she didn't know how to get home unsettled her. She always knew how to fix situations and if she didn't, she could read it in a book. However, this was the first case of time travel that was longer than a few days that she knew about, so the likelihood of it being documented anywhere would be extremely unlikely. In fact, she wasn't even sure if Time Turners had been showcased to the public yet. She knew they existed, but their power was still in development. Even in her time they were hard to come by and hard to learn about. "I don't have any money or clothes..." She whispered.

Dumbledore reached over the desk and patted the young girl on the shoulder. "No worries. Hogwarts has a fund for students that are too poor to buy books and things for school. What year would you be in? Seventh? Or have you graduated?"

"I was supposed to finish my last year up this previous year, but some things got in the way. I haven't completed my seventh year yet. I'm a Gryffindor." Hermione found that to be a plus in her situation. She had intended to go back to Hogwarts the next year for her final year, but it seemed she'd get to possibly complete it in the past.

"Perfect then. You shall remain in Gryffindor and remain at Hogwarts until the school year starts in a few weeks. You'll have free reign of the castle and Hogsmeade, and if you wish to visit Diagon Alley arrangements can be made to see you safely there. This way you'll have an excuse for how you know the castle so well, as I'm sure you do. I think it's safe for you to keep your first name, but you'll need a new last just in case, and a cover identity for those students who will be curious in getting to know you."

"Wilkins, sir. If you don't mind. Hermione Wilkins. What about being a transfer student? I could say I've come from Ilvermorny in America, born in England and raised here until eight, which would explain my accent, and that my parents died in an accident which caused me to return here as my Muggle aunt left me her estate? Of course, there won't be an estate, but that won't need to be proved."

Dumbledore nodded, evidently satisfied with the story. "Just make sure that whatever details you add don't contradict anything. I'm sure I do not need to stress to you the importance of keeping the future to yourself."

"Of course, sir. Would you mind if I went to Diagon Alley tomorrow?"

Dumbledore thought it over for a moment. "That won't be a problem. I'll have a set of clothes sent up to your room tonight for you to change into so that you don't stand out so much. Meet me by the front gates at 8am. You may sleep in the Gryffindor dorms. Seventh year dorms should be right across from the sixth year dorms."

Hermione smiled slightly. "Thank you, sir. I shall see you in the morning then."

"Goodnight, Miss Granger. Should you need anything in the meantime, merely call for one of the house elves."

The young witch had no intentions of doing any such thing, but she nodded anyway. "I shall keep that in mind." She then excused herself and made her way to the dorms, needing a good nap and some time to think over what she had gotten herself into.


End file.
